American Potato Journal

, Volume 63, Issue 5, pp 263–276 | Cite as

Water relations of the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars Raritan and Shepody

  • Warren K. Coleman
Article
Accepted:

Abstract

Physiological responses to drought stress were evaluated in the potato cultivars Raritan and Shepody. Under well-watered conditions, Raritan exhibited a higher transpiration rate than Shepody. This higher rate could be related to a lower calculated stomatal resistance on abaxial leaf surfaces. Under drought stress conditions, Raritan consistently demonstrated superior performance over Shepody in the following areas: leaf water retention, epicuticular wax levels, desiccation tolerance and root growth. The estimated relative water content at a leaf water potential of-1.0 MPa was higher for Raritan than Shepody regardless of leaf age and may indicate a greater drought resistance in the former cultivar.

Key Words

Solanum tuberosum drought resistance dehydration avoidance or tolerance 

Resumen

Se evaluaron las respuestas fisiológicas al estrés a la sequía en los cultivares de papa Raritan y Shepody. Bajo condiciones de un buen riego, Raritan exhibió un mayor grado de transpiración que Shepody. El más alto grado de transpiración podria estar relacionado con una menor resistencia calculada de los estomas de la superficie dorsal de las hojas. Bajo condiciones de estrés a la sequía, Raritan mostró consistentemente un comportamiento superior sobre Shepody en los siguientes aspectos: retención de agua por las hojas, niveles cerosos epicuticulares, tolerancia a la desecación, y crecimiento radicular. El contenido relativo de agua, estimado a un potencial de agua en las hojas de -1,0 MPa, fue major para Raritan que para Shepody, prescindiendo de la edad de las hojas, lo que puede estar indicando una mayor resistencia a la sequía en el primero de los cultivares mencionados.

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Copyright information

© 1986 1986

Authors and Affiliations

  • Warren K. Coleman
    • 1
  1. 1.Research StationAgriculture CanadaFrederictonCanada

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